Friendship
by Redenzione
Summary: “...dinner and a show, I’ll tell you, friendship never tasted so good.


**Friendship.**

* * *

"Oh, this is heaven, this is such a great idea I'm glad we thought of it!" Ino Yamanaka sighed as she sipped her drink and laid her head down on her arms. She was chest and face down on a large blanket with her legs bent up at the knee and dangling in the air as though they were not connected with the rest of her body.

The blanket she was lying on was big enough to comfort herself and her three other friends, Sakura, Tenten and Hinata. The three of them were also in semi relaxed poses however they, unlike Ino seemed to be ready for an attack at any moment and managed to look peaceful at the same time.

Sakura stretched and lay down on her back, her hands rested on her flat stomach and she listened quietly to her breathing, a new trick she had learned to help her sleep at night but also helped her to calm down. Hinata was sitting opposite Ino and next to Sakura she was on her knees and smiling happily, Tenten was on her other side and leaning with her back against a tree, her right knee was bent and she was resting her forearm on it.

The girls were now older and much better ninja than they had once been before. Tenten was apart of the ANBU while Hinata and Ino were Jonin's Sakura was also a Jonin and also a skilled medic which had evolved from her long training with Tsunade. The four of them had finally been given a small break from missions at the same time so they decided to spend it together as the four of them were hardly ever able to spend time together.

They had planned their private picnic and now after being satiated with their food and drink, were laying, or sitting and enjoying the warmth of the sun on their flesh, they had chatted about everything they could think of for the last hour and now were just silently enjoying each others company, although in Ino and Sakura's case, silence was something near impossible.

"So tell me Hinata, any news on the Naruto front, or his still as oblivious as ever, gosh, its people like him that give us blondes a bad name, seriously, I mean look at me! Beautiful blonde hair, plus I know exactly when some one is crushing on me, comes with the trade, right forehead?"

How she managed to hold in the most unladylike snort ever, Tenten did not know, yet she couldn't hold back the rolling of the eyes. Sakura caught her and grinned largely, before turning to Hinata and then quickly turned away as the poor thing was biting her lip so hard Sakura knew her grinning face would not help the laughter her friend was trying to keep in.

"Sure, Ino you always know when someone is crushing on you, I'd say its one of you're best talents."

This time Hinata couldn't keep her giggles in her mouth and proceeded to laugh loudly, she was joined by Tenten and the two of them chuckled together as Sakura grinned again. Ino pursed her lips as she read the sarcasm pouring off her friend's words.

Sakura finally laughed and threw Ino a grape as a peace offering as she noticed her unhappy look. When Ino finally ate it, Sakura laid back down with a sigh, her friend could be so incredibly dense sometimes, and incredibly hypocritical.

Ino slanted her eyes to Sakura's form and noticed the furrowed eyebrows, an act she had frowned upon as it made her look even more unattractive, something she did not want for her friend.

Raising her arm and leaning on a clenched fist Ino spoke directly, "whats the deal Sakura? How many times have I told you don't think so hard, you'll get frown lines, and then I'll have no competition for Sasuke!"

Tenten laughed and popped a grape quickly into her mouth before swallowing, "so you don't want him because you like him, you just want to _win_ him so you can gloat?"

Ino smirked while Sakura laughed, not bothering to answer Sakura voiced what she had been pondering over, "Ino's the type of girl that wants what she can't have, always has been, always will be."

Tenten and Hinata nodded their acquiesce while Ino frowned, Sakura grinned and sang "frown lines!"

Ino grimaced and threw a grape at Sakura much to Tenten and Hinata's amusement. Scrunching up her nose and exhaling deeply Ino ate another strawberry, "what do you mean I want what I can't have?"

Sakura rolled over onto her front and grabbed a tiny slice of mandarin, "every guy you've ever thought of dating has always been inaccessible to you. Ergo they are a challenge, and like the stubborn pig you are, you refuse to give them up to anyone until you get what you want, totally ignoring those who are accessible to you and are just as good, if not better than those you originally want."

Ino took a moment to process this information then scoffed, "please, like there is anyone better than Sasuke, I mean Sai does come a close second since he knows who is beautiful and who is not," she smirked in Sakura's direction who to her surprise let out a large giggle.

Ino, Tenten, Hinata both watched in astonishment as her friend kept on laughing loudly, Sakura clutched her stomach and tried to grab another grape, only to have them moved away by an angry Ino, "what is so funny?"

Sakura, unlike Tenten did not manage to keep her snort in, "please Ino you are so blind, the perfect guy for you has been staring you in the face. For years! And then you tell us how blind Naruto has been? Hypocritical much?"

Ino blanched at this, she looked around at the other two girls as they nodded, she frowned trying to think of who it could possibly be.

Frustrated that she couldn't think of anyone she turned to Sakura who had been waiting for her, when Ino hadn't given her an answer she motioned to the grape bowl, it was reluctantly handed over and Sakura took one before calmly answering Ino's question and popping the grape into her mouth.

Sakura nearly choked on it as Ino's loud screech echoed throughout their ears. "Ino!" Tenten whined and rubbed her ears lightly while sharing a grimace with Hinata who was still wincing.

"Shikamaru? Are you kidding me?" Ino's voice was loud and shrill and echoed around the four girls, a few birds flew up in alarm and Sakura could have sworn she saw a lurking cat jump with fright.

"No Ino I'm not kidding, you put so much effort into trying to attract Sasuke who has the emotional range of a wooden brick, he's also completely dense when it comes to anything remotely romantic, then you chase Sai, who by the way thinks the total opposite of everyone he nicknames, and is completely, if not even more so than Sasuke, utterly detached from anything humanoid."

Sakura stopped to breathe and glared lightly at her friend, who could be as thick as the boys she chased after when it came to romantic pursuits. "So after you've mooned over everyone else for at least a decade of you're life, guess who is still there waiting, hoping for you to even notice him once-"

"Shikamaru is my team mate, I 'notice' him all the time!" Ino interrupted indignantly, "and I don't appreciate you telling me how I treat my _friends!"_

"Well that's just it, isn't it Ino?" Tenten questioned loudly and smirking, "Shikamaru doesn't want to just be _friends_."

The girl spluttered loudly and went as pink as Sakura's hair, while the rest of them laughed, Ino huffed and growled loudly before reaching for anotherstrawberry. The four of them sat in silence for a few seconds, before Tenten spoke up, her face was slightly creased as she frowned, "Sakura, you mentioned that Sai gives people names, yet they are meant to mean the opposite yes?"

Sakura nodded absently, while Ino growled lightly at the mention of one of her 'sweethearts.' Tenten looked from one to the other and smirked, "well he calls you 'ugly' if I'm not mistaken?"

Sakura hummed, "you're point being?"

It took a while for it to sink in, Sakura fiddled a leaf that had blown into her hair before looking up at Tenten, who gave her a pointed look, slowly going over what Tenten had said in her mind, her face slowly grew into one of comical horror, she gaped like a fish for a few moments but was not allowed any more time to get over the shock.

This time Sakura was sure that every animal in a hundred metre radius would have jumped from shock at Ino's loud screech, "traitor!"

"Ino, listen its not-"

"Backstabber!"

Trying to dodge her friends flying fists was normally not altogether difficult however Ino in a jealous rage proved rather lethal to her health.

Tenten watched in amusement as she watched Ino fly about like a hippo ready for feeding, she also snorted to herself as she realised that never should she say that analogy out loud. Hinata sighed and watched Sakura dodge the blows while trying to reason with her enraged friend, she turned to Tenten and couldn't help but smile wryly, "did you have to do that?"

Tenten nodded as she picked up the bowl of strawberries Ino had kept near her and away from Tenten, "she was going to eat all of them," she shook the bowl in Hinata's face, "I had to do something."

Hinata giggled lightly, "food over friendship?" Tenten gave her a cheeky, strawberry filled grin "how often do I get this kind of food, especially with the amount of males I travel with, never!"

Hinata opened her mouth but then remembered her team, and the many years she had gone sacrificing her food. She closed her mouth abruptly and deftly picked up a strawberry before popping it in her mouth.

Tenten smiled luxuriously, and leant back, "dinner and a show, I'll tell you, friendship never tasted so good.

* * *

Okay this is one really odd oneshot, one that I never intended to write, I wanted to write one based on the whole Sai/Nickname thing and I had already had some of this written up and I am incredibly lazy so this is what you get.

Yah or Nay?


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